Page 108 of Dublin Brute

I make a juggernaut run at the house and thrust my boot at the front door. The jamb gives way with a booming crack, wood splintering as the hinges try and fail miserably to keep the paneled slab attached to the wall.

Nora’s scream pierces my heart, and I race into the living room.

McNevin spins her and wraps his arm around Nora’s neck, holding her prisoner against his body like a shield.

“You fucking piece of shit. How dare you touch what is mine.” My fists are clenched so tight, my nails bite into my palms. “I am Brendan-fucking-Quinn and I’m telling you—let her go.”

“Oh, I know who you are, mate, but she was mine long before yours.” He studies me, but doesn’t flinch an inch. Not that I expected him to—he’s a fucking scouse Made Man straight out of prison. He thinks we stand on level ground of ruthless violence.

He’s wrong.

I step forward and he tightens his hold, making Nora cry out. I hold up my hands, my heart thundering like it never has before. Fucking hell, the thought of him taking Nora from me makes my knees weak.

“Your beef is with her father. She’s got nothing to do with this.”

Jordan rushes out from the dining room, and his expression morphs from rage at seeing me in his home to horror when he spots McNevin holding his daughter. “Get your hands off my daughter!”

McNevin grins, the sick fuck. “I don’t think so, Kelly. I’ve thought of little else but getting my hands on her since the night I snapped her mother’s neck. I was going to kill the kid then, but that wasn’t the job. She was the leverage to stand you down.”

Confusion washes over Nora’s face, her pleading gaze piercing my heart.

McNevin brushes his lips over Nora’s ear as if whispering a secret. “Your father made it look like a car accident. He denied me the glory of my kill. He’s been lying to you, chippy. Didn’t want you to know she died because of him.”

“Shut your filthy mouth.” Jordan’s voice is warped with emotion, but it’s the grief and guilt etched on his face that is the most telling. It’s actually sad.

I almost feel for the man. Almost.

But none of this matters with Nora in danger.

The roar of my brother’s arrival sends a surge of relief through my chest. The thundering rumble of a dozen Harleys pulling up outside is enough of a distraction to have McNevin shifting his attention to the window.

Jordan and I both take advantage of the moment.

I grab a heavy crystal figurine off the sofa table and hurl it just above McNevin’s head. The shattering of glass sends an avalanche of shards bursting outward onto the lawn as Jordan rushes him like an enraged bull.

The two of us get to the fucker about the same time. Jordan goes for McNevin and I’ve only got eyes for Nora. As much as I struggle with the urge to kill the fucker, Nora is the only thing that matters.

I pull my girl away from the chaos of meaty punches thrown with desperate force. The collision of Jordan and McNevin has been building for over a decade, Nora’s father a wronged man possessed.

With the bastard who stole his love within his grasp, Jordan gives the reins over to revenge. I don’t blame him. If it were me, I’d be just as unhinged.

In a heated battle, they grapple one another, taking out the furniture and demolishing the facade Jordan Kelly has put on for thirteen years.

I shield Nora with my body, pressing her face into my chest so she doesn’t have to watch as Jordan and McNevin scramble like rabid dogs. Her fingers dig into my shirt, her trembling body gloriously solid and alive against mine.

“I’ve got you, beautiful.” I murmur in her ear, holding her tight against my chest. “I’ve got you and I’m never fucking letting you go.”

The scramble takes the men through the opening of the shattered window and Sean and the Devils race up the lawn. The rhythmic whine of an ambulance siren is growing closer, and I think about Drake bleeding on the lawn.

The chaos of the fight falls silent, and I pull Nora tighter against my chest, watching the empty window. With my gun in my hand and my arm raised, I wait to see which one of the men gets up.

Neither of them do.

Sean approaches the house, leaning forward and stretching his neck to see. “Clear. They’re both down hard.”

“What?” Nora’s tear-stained face pulls away from my chest and stares up at me. “My father’s okay, though, right?”

It doesn’t sound like it. I holster my gun at my back and ease away from Nora. “Let me go see.”

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